The present invention relates in general to the computer field, and in particular, to a computer providing viewing flexibility and adaptability to user needs.
Current portable computers are often designed using a clamshell configuration, which includes a base portion with a computer keyboard, connected at one edge to a display portion via a hinge mechanism. While the user is able to tilt the angle of the display, the display is otherwise fixed in relationship to the base unit.
The display portion of such clamshell portable computers typically has a fixed aspect ratio, in which the width of the display is greater than its height. Many conventional displays employ a 4:3 aspect ratio. Other displays provide various “widescreen” aspect ratios, such as 16:9. Such aspect ratios, having width greater than height, are sometimes referred to as “landscape” configurations.
While landscape display configurations may be efficient for some applications, there are other applications for which it may be desirable to employ a display configuration having a height greater than its width, i.e., a “portrait” display configuration. However, since many portable computers have a display with a fixed orientation, users may be forced to use a landscape display orientation, even for applications in which a portrait configuration would be more effective. For example, many of the standard papers sizes for printed documents have heights greater than their widths. For users creating or reviewing documents formatted for printing on such papers, a portrait display configuration may provide more efficient use of the display area. Therefore, in some circumstances, it may be desirable to provide a portable computer having a portrait display configuration, while other circumstances may call for a landscape display orientation. It may also be desirable to enable a user to select between landscape and portrait display configurations based upon the task presently at hand. Thus, in accordance with one aspect of some embodiments of the invention, a portable computer is provided having a display that can be readily changed between landscape and portrait configurations. Such a configurable display may enable a computer to improve a user's satisfaction and productivity in connection with a wide variety of applications.
Because portable computers typically have a fixed display, users are often forced to choose between a small computer which is highly portable but saddled with a small display having limited display area, and a larger computer having greater display area but a correspondingly larger size and reduced portability. Therefore, in some applications it may be desirable to provide a modular portable computer capable of operating with a plurality of different display panels.
Some users rely on Personal Digital Assistants (PDAs) for a portable computing solution. However, many PDAs have limited computing power and storage capacity as compared to laptop or portable computers. Such PDAs often cannot run software that users normally use on their PCs, and small PDA keyboards may require a stylus for input and are cumbersome and difficult to use. PDAs typically use a different operating system as compared to a user's laptop computer, which may be inconvenient and introduce incompatibility issues for many users. Finally, operating a separate PDA and portable computer may require a user to regularly transfer data between the devices. Therefore, it may be desirable to provide a portable computing solution having greater portability than many laptop computers, but greater computing power than typical PDAs.
Some of these and other features may be provided through implementation of various aspects of the present invention.